Sacha Baron Cohen finishes filming secret movie reviving Ali G
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Sacha Baron Cohen has wrapped filming on a new movie reviving Ali G, the streetwise, hip-hop-inflected interviewer who was his breakout sketch character. The project was shot in secret — mirroring Cohen's approach to the two "Borat" films — and marks the character's first cinematic outing since 2002's "Ali G Indahouse". A spokesperson for Cohen declined to comment, and details such as a release date, plot or distributor were not disclosed.
Ali G first appeared on Channel 4's "The 11 O'Clock Show" before headlining "Da Ali G Show" in the early 2000s, where his slang-heavy interviews bewildered guests such as Noam Chomsky, Andy Rooney and Newt Gingrich, later winning a US following via HBO. Cohen has since built a wide-ranging career, earning an Oscar nomination for "The Trial of the Chicago 7", three Golden Globes and Oscar nods for both "Borat" screenplays, alongside recent streaming hits including Netflix's "Ladies First" and Prime Video's "Balls Up". The news that the film had been completed was first reported by The Insneider.
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Sacha Baron Cohen made his name playing Ali G, a fictional interviewer who mixed hip-hop slang with awkward, deadpan questions, catching out serious public figures who often didn't realise they were being sent up. The character began on British television in the late 1990s and early 2000s before crossing over to American audiences, and previously appeared in one feature film, "Ali G Indahouse", released in 2002.
Cohen has since become known for a run of other characters built on the same trick of tricking real people into unscripted reactions, most notably in the two "Borat" films, as well as for more conventional acting roles that have brought him major awards recognition. He has a habit of shooting these projects under tight secrecy so that the reactions of unwitting participants remain genuine and unaffected by advance publicity.
This matters because it signals a return, after more than two decades, to the character that first made Cohen famous, though at this stage no plot, release date or distributor has been confirmed.
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Originally published by Variety as “Ali G Returns: Sacha Baron Cohen Wraps Filming Secret Movie Reviving Beloved Character”.